Reborn as the God-Emperor in Marvel

Despite the summoning circle being filled with another kind of magic and an unknown demon reaching out its hand, Solomon remained calm. Although the demon itself paid for the summoning magic, the circle Solomon had drawn was only a second-tier summoning spell. Even the most powerful demon couldn't fully emerge from the small exit to reach the material plane.

That hideous demon barely made it through the circle, which was the limit. Any stronger demon wouldn't tolerate the feeling of squeezing through such a narrow passage, unless that demon's name was Mario, and the abyss it came from was called Nintendo.

This was knowledge Solomon had gained from past experience: preventing the summoned creature from calling forth more demons through the circle was a minor trick. If he were a conjuration specialist, he would have even more methods in place within the summoning chamber. These could include, but weren't limited to, placing a sprinkler above the circle to spray holy water when necessary, or even drawing a teleportation circle in the chamber that led to Mount Celestia. After all, teleportation circles don't leave signatures, and Mount Celestia wouldn't know who had thrown the demon there.

Solomon ignored the trembling hideous demon, which had been pushed aside by the red hand. Instead, he extended his right hand, which bore three rings. As he spoke, the sapphire, orange sapphire, and pink diamond on the rings lit up one after the other.

"In the name of Vishanti, I command you, leave this realm!" he said. Vast amounts of pink, blue, and orange magic surged into the circle, quickly pushing aside the dark red magic. This technique of channeling magic was something Solomon had learned from the British Museum's guardian. His body did not channel the magic directly; instead, it summoned the infinite power of Vishanti. Although this method was rough, it was highly effective in the current situation.

As Vishanti's magic filled the summoning circle, the hideous demon howled in pain, its skin turning blackened from the searing power. The red hand quickly waved, signaling that it was not resisting. Solomon paused the magic output for a moment and glanced at Bayonetta. The witch nodded, agreeing to temporarily halt taking control of the circle. However, Bayonetta still aimed her gun at the hand.

Then, the red hand gave a thumbs-up.

From thin air, a roll of yellowed parchment appeared in its hand, held between two metallic rods. The hand gripped one side and unfurled the scroll, using magic to float it toward Solomon.

"This is the contract?" Solomon extended his hand, using Mage Hand to stop the scroll from coming too close. He pulled out a magnifying glass from his pocket and began carefully examining it. The parchment was quite old, with cracked edges, and though Solomon could understand the language written on it, the contract was so long that he had to read it line by line, slowly.

He needed to ensure there were no hidden ink marks, no decorative flourishes, no meaningless punctuation, no typos, no annotations, and no overlapping sections of paper. Solomon meticulously inspected the parchment with his magnifying glass but found no tricks. The contract was surprisingly straightforward.

He even pulled Bayonetta, who was on guard, over to check the contract with him. Since Bayonetta's command of Enochian was better than Solomon's, the arcanist was particularly concerned about potential misunderstandings due to punctuation.

After thoroughly reviewing the document, they found that the contract was very precise. Even a lawyer wouldn't be able to find any ambiguity.

It took Solomon nearly an hour to examine the contract, yet the red hand showed no signs of impatience. It stayed there, casting shadow puppets in the moonlight. Whenever Solomon looked over, it would give him another thumbs-up. Whether the hand was certain the contract would be signed or simply didn't care was unclear.

"This doesn't feel like a demonic contract at all," Solomon said. "There are no tricks, which actually makes me uneasy."

"It's a demon contract, boy," Bayonetta said, frowning. "You're dealing with the Abyss, not Hell. Only devils enjoy sneaking tricks into contracts."

"That makes me even more worried," Solomon replied, looking at the hand, which was now bending its shadow into the shape of a rabbit. "Demons aren't always bound by contracts. Some are even more treacherous than devils."

Take, for example, Graz'zt, the ruler of the Threefold Realm—a notorious demon lord who was very happy to abide by contracts. He could be just as deceptive as any devil when it came to making deals. Doing business with creatures from the lower planes always required caution. The moment you believed yourself smarter than them was when you'd fall into their trap.

"What's more," Solomon whispered to Bayonetta, pointing at the contract, "this contract doesn't even have a space for a signature."

Indeed, it was a pre-signed contract. The contract listed the true names of 72 demons available for summoning, and the original signee was someone named Solomon. The other party to the contract was represented by a long, unpronounceable series of names. Although humans couldn't speak these names, Solomon tried to remember a few.

"This isn't my contract, Belial." Solomon pulled Bayonetta back a few steps, shouting at the red hand, "I'm not going to give you my soul, and I'm definitely not Solomon!"

The hand opened up, and a string of letters, as if formed by burning paper, appeared in the air: "We maintain the relevant stance and reserve the right to pursue legal action."

"I won't acknowledge that," Solomon retorted. "I didn't even touch the contract, Belial, and I'm not giving you my soul!"

He was puzzled. Wasn't Belial a fallen angel, one of Hell's Seven Dukes? What was he doing in the Abyss? Or was it not Belial who wanted to make the contract?

The hand seemed to sulk visibly and then produced another message: "This is a fair deal. The contract is merely being reaffirmed."

"Unless the contract is revised, I won't sign it," Solomon said, stepping back again. "Never. I believe in summoning demons who willingly enter a contract through a fair exchange."

The hand's owner seemed to contemplate this for a moment. It snapped its fingers, causing certain lines in the contract to catch fire and disappear—specifically, the clauses concerning the sale of his soul. Solomon stepped forward again, scrutinizing the document with his magnifying glass. Then, using a minor spell, he summoned a quill and began adding new terms to the contract.

For example: "Any additional clauses must be agreed upon by the signee with full awareness. If the signee is under the influence of magic, drugs, psionics, or coercion, the contract is void." Solomon even included vague legal terms, like "etc.," which could leave room for interpretation.

The hand's owner quickly noticed the trick. It pointed its sharp nail at the word "etc.," but Solomon merely shrugged, offering no explanation. He wasn't sure if the demon would honor the contract, but it was better to be cautious.

Though Solomon didn't know why Belial was so intent on making a contract, he didn't need to sign it to summon demons. The process would just be a bit more complicated. Whatever Belial wanted from him, the demon would have to sign the contract—and at this moment, Solomon had the upper hand.

The red hand raised its middle finger, then crushed the hideous demon in one swift move, took hold of the contract, and withdrew back into the summoning circle. Solomon was left perplexed. He had only added some terms; he hadn't signed the contract. He recalled that he hadn't left any blood, hair, or other personal items on the contract or in the magic circle.

"What just happened? Legal consultation services? Why didn't he just hire a lawyer?" Solomon spread his hands in disbelief.

But Bayonetta didn't know either. Her knowledge of the lower planes was limited to the realm of Madam Butterfly, and she had long forgotten most of the witchcraft teachings.

"So, can you summon demons now?" the witch asked.

"I don't know," Solomon replied. "But I have a feeling it's possible."

At the center of the now-smoldering magic circle lay a ring among the ash.

Solomon suddenly had a feeling that this, too, might be part of the Sorcerer Supreme's grand plan.

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